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Mango Sorbet

Thursday, June 7, 2012

When life gives you mangoes, make mango sorbet.

That’s what I did a few weeks ago when the hype-person for Mangoes (these jobs!) sent me a box of them in the mail. In terms of things you can find waiting near your front door after work, it was pretty good. I haven’t worked much with mangoes. I eat them, occasionally. The “tropical” fruits remain a little bit of a mystery to me. They are never local, here in Chicago, and every time I buy one I feel slight guilt and confusion. Do they have a season? Are there better times to eat them? I only buy them in winter, when there is no local fruit of any kind.

I had big plans for my mangoes, but they were ripening quickly and I decided to keep it simple with this sorbet. I was glad I did, because the sorbet was awesome and churned on one of the first days of summer heat in Chicago. It increased my excitement for the summer and all of the fun things we’ll eat that are grown right here in the Midwest. So, goodbye to the tropics and hello to the heartland.

You can use whatever mango variety you like for this sorbet, just make sure is ripe and delicious. Adjust the amounts of lime and rum to your taste. These coconut sticks would be the perfect cookie to serve alongside the sorbet.

Peel the mangoes and remove the flesh from the pit. Chop the mango flesh into large chunks and place it in a blender along with the rest of the ingredients. Squeeze the mango pits and skins over the blender to extract as much juice as possible. Puree the mixture until it is smooth. Taste, and add more lime juice or rum, if needed. Chill the mixture in the fridge for a couple of hours before processing in your ice cream maker according to instructions.

If you do not have an ice cream maker, I do not forgive you but, you can turn these into ice pops.

Mango season is just beginning, we grow them here in Florida and the bulk of the ones on my trees are almost ready to pick, we’ve had a couple already. Season for mangoes unusually starts in June and goes through the summer months so winter is probably not your best bet.

Lovely pictures as always. I love mangoes, and this sorbet looks great. My parents have a mango tree in their backyard in Miami, and I loved the summers when school was out and that tree was heavy with fruit. I remember eating a mango every day in June, cutting off big chunks to eat over the sink.

I’ve noticed that the honey mangoes (also called carey mangoes), which are the small, totally yellow mangoes (as opposed to the green and red variety you have), are in season starting in early March. These are usually from either Pakistan or Mexico. So, no, not local at all, but they’re in season somewhere!

Hey Tim! I bought the ice cream maker you recommended a few months back in your Burnt Orange ice cream post and I love it… thanks again! The weather over here is pretty warm, so a bowl of mango sorbet would be perfect right about now. Thanks for the recipe! :)

Mangoes…totally worth the political incorrectness. My ice cream maker is the O.F. hand-crank kind that gets hauled out once or twice a year, usually to entertain a pack of young cousins. I’ve been toying with getting a real one; maybe this is the perfect excuse? I’m just afraid it would lead me to make ice cream a lot more often (the problem being that then I would EAT ice cream a lot more often).

By the way, if you ever again find yourself in possession of overripening mangoes, they make a delicious ‘butter’ (like apple butter), perfumed with cardamom.

There is a season! Or at least, for certain varieties (the kind typically found in India are the ones I know best). It runs from the end of May til mid July (or whenever the monsoon starts). We get out mangoes in crates from Patel Brothers on Devon St. in Chicago, but any Indian grocery store will probably packed with them this time of year. There are several varieties that appear during the season, I believe Haydens are good right now and Kent is probably next.

I grew up in miami where every neighbor and friend I knew had a mango tree in their yard (we had avocados and oranges), but sadly, I hated mangoes as a child. I found the texture really off-putting. thankfully, I have grown up in the mango department, but mangoes are not exactly local to boston, so I find myself in a quandary similar to yours. I might have to get some, though, before the local fruit starts. this sorbet is calling my name.

Mango season in India/South Asia is about 100 days long. It starts in April and goes through the end of June. Even though I’m writing this in Boston, I tend to only buy mangoes during that period. Like you, I feel so guilty and confused every time I buy a piece of tropical fruit. They’re sooo good, though. Such a special treat!

Agree with other comments that late April till around July is good for mangoes. That’s when you’ll find Ataulfo and Champagne mangoes from Mexico, Francis mangoes from Haiti, Alphonson mangoes from India, and other varieties depending on where you live. The mangoes available year-round (like the ones pictured) are nowhere near as good. They pretty much exist for smoothies and desserts, but not for eating as is.
I love tropical fruit, but living in the US, I don’t eat much of it since I tend to shop local.

Yummy. I love mango sorbet. And your coconut sticks. :-) I’m a Master Gardener, grow some of my own vegetables, and buy from local farmers “in season” and a year-round farmers market, but I can’t get too hung up on buying locally as I’m not willing to give up bananas, mangoes, pineapples, oranges, etc. that don’t grow in Pennsylvania. Our berry season is starting now, so I’ll favor them and follow through with local fruits and veggies until about October, but then whatever tastes best goes.

I guess I haven’t been paying attention but I just noticed the Saveur banner on the bottom of the left column — it must be so fun and gratifying to see that badge of honor pop up each time the page loads! Also, I know you’ve had the new layout for a while but I’m finally commenting on how much I like the random “Favorites” photos; the photos always look lovely, appetizing, appealing, and this morning they were even all color-coordinated?!?! How DO you do it? :)

Glad to know I’m not the only sufferer of mango-purchasing guilt and tropical fruit confusion! I try to eat local, but mangos and coconut are necessary guilty pleasures. This sorbet sounds like a bowlful of heaven, esp. with rum and coconut sticks! David L is the god of all things awesome!

I’ve learned a bit about yellow mangos from friends who lived in Mexico. When I was living in Chicago I shopped at a few of the Mexican groceries, and finally saw the natural season appearance of perfectly ripe yellow mangos. Before this I had only eaten the other ones… (greener skin, like what you have pictured above).

Hi TIM, you did a wonderful job cutting this mango! I live in Venezuela and we have nice mangos, lots of them, and they vary. We have mangos and mangas (bigger and with more fiber). Mango de bocado (small, almost bite size) and mango de hilacha. It’s season here is from April thru September. Some trees have two crops per year… =D Regards

Ooh, this looks delicious. LA is certainly not as hot as Chicago right now, but summer none the less, and I could definitely use some of this sorbet. Thanks for the post; I like how few ingredients it has too :)